...Using material from Item A and elsewhere, assess sociological explanations of changes in the status of childhood The status of childhood has always been changing with time and in this day and age there are many views over the position of children, being confined, disciplined or controlled by the adult authority. Others say that they are growing up to fast and the distinction between the adults and children is overlapping. Some sociologists believe that childhood is socially constructed, that childhood is dependent on society’s cultures, beliefs and laws etc. An example for this theory is Stephen Wagg’s (1992), who believes a single ‘universal’ childhood, which everyone goes through, does not exist. He says that childhood isn’t natural or defined by biology. By this he means that although all children go through life stages and physical development, it doesn’t create their position in society and instead the society and its differential culture, religion and laws decide this for them. Earlier centuries like the middle ages didn’t regard childhood at all and adults and children were almost equal with each other, work, clothing and playing. As item A describes ‘little distinction was drawn between adults and children’. This is a view taken up by the historian Philippe Aries where the child entered the wider society on most the same terms as adults and taking the responsibility of work from a young age. Evidence of this is from Bruegel’s 16th century painting which shows children...
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...decided to Interview is a friend of mine named Tammy Koske. It was 29 years ago this past December when her sister Michelle (age 22 at the time) was reported missing in Holyoke, MA. The sisters had been dealing with domestic abuse since childhood which led to them both being in and out of abusive relationships into adulthood. Tammy managed to escape that life, but her sister unfortunately was not as lucky. It wasn’t until 2005 after Michelle’s husband Michael Nicholaou killed his current wife Aileen, her daughter and himself in a double murder suicided, that the authorities made him a person of interest in not only Michelle’s case but in the Connecticut River Valley Serial Killings, rapes, disappearances and murders of other women in New Hampshire, Virginia, Texas, Florida, Vermont, Massachusetts, and possibly New York and Illinois. Still today, Tammy and her family do not know what happened to her sister Michelle or what he allegedly did with her body....
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...many have theories but some of the most common theories would suggest that the flight around the world was simply a cover-up for a spy mission, commissioned by President Roosevelt to determine what the Japanese were doing in the Pacific or that she and Fred Noonan, her flight crewmen, weren't merely swallowed up by the Pacific Ocean, but however captured by the Japanese. No evidence to support either of those or any other theory for that matter has ever been established (1). Amelia Earhart (1897-1939) was an American woman aviation pioneer and the finest in woman’s early supporting for equal rights. She was an incredibly intellectual female; entered the seventh grade at the age of twelve, which lead her through her life from childhood to her disappearance on 2 July 1937 (2). Because of her many accomplishments, her capability to always have passion and persistence in aviation and life, and her aptitude to encourage others, Amelia should be admired. The main reason that Amelia should be admired is for her various accomplishments that lead to her success. On October 22, 1922, Amelia set the world record for female pilots at an altitude of 14,000 feet in a Kinner Airster biplane (2). Although she was only a passenger in a plane flown by Wilmer Stutz and Louis Gordon, she became the first woman to fly across the Atlantic nonstop on June 17 and 18, 1928 (3). For accomplishing this flight she was awarded the U.S. Distinguished Flying Cross from Congress, the Cross of Knight of the...
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...Examine the effects of social change in the position of children Sociologists see childhood as socially constructed, this means they see it as something created and defined by society itself. They believe we can see the position that children occupy in society is not fixed but differs between different time, places and cultures by comparing the western idea of childhood today with the childhood in the past and in other societies. It is accepted in our society today that childhood is a special time of life and that children are different from adults. They are seen as physically and psychologically immature and not yet able to run their own lives. Jane Pilcher (1995) notes the most importance feature of the modern idea of childhood is separateness. Childhood is seen as a clear and distinct life stage and children in society occupy a different status from adults. However this view of childhood as a separate age status, children and adults being different, is not found in all societies. Stephan Wagg (1992) says “Childhood is socially constructed. It is, in other words, what members of particular societies, at particular times and in particular places, say it is. There is no single universal childhood, experienced by all. So, childhood isn’t ‘natural’ and should be distinguished from mere biological immaturity”. This means that, while all human beings go through the same stages on physical development, different cultures construct or define this process differently. Ruth Benedict...
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...Assess the sociological explanations of changes in the status of children (24 marks) Childhood is a socially defined age-status. There are major differences in how childhood is defined both historically and cross-culturally. Some may believe that childhood is biological. The age and development of children are biologically determined as these remain the same throughout time and cultures. But childhood, the way children are viewed and treated, changes throughout time and cultures. This is why childhood is viewed as a social construction. Some sociologists suggest the changes in the status of children are good, while others suggest they are bad. To examine the change in the status of children, we have to see how it has been constructed by society. In the UK people follow the western modern notion; that childhood is a special separate life stage. However, this view is not found in all societies as suggested by Wagg (1992). There is clear evidence of this when childhood is examined cross-culturally. Ruth Benedict (1934) argued that children in simpler, non-industrial societies are generally treated differently from their western counterparts. Benedict suggested that children take responsibility from an early age and that there is less value placed on obedience to adult authority. She also suggests that children’s sexual behaviour is often viewed differently. Many sociologists have studies to support this. Malinowski (1957) found that Trobriand Islanders took an attitude of ‘tolerance...
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...and self-induced isolation Compare and contrast essay Student Number: T00557209 Assignment 3 ENGL 1001 Nir Light July 20th, 2015 “Death by Landscape” by Margaret Atwood and “To Room Nineteen” by Elizabeth Lesser are both stories of self-induced isolation, in which the protagonists are unable to expose their predicaments to the people around them. Lois, the protagonist in “Death by Landscape,” isolates herself due to the traumatic disappearance of her childhood friend, Lucy. Suzan, the protagonist in “To Room Nineteen,” is trapped in an emotional impasse caused by conforming to her roles as wife and mother, and being reasonable and intelligent, unable to express her true feelings. While Lois surrounds herself with landscape pictures, and finds a resolution in them, Suzan’s isolation progresses, until she surrenders to her predicament and ends her life. Despite the different ways they resolve their predicaments, both protagonists find relief in their choices. In “Death by Landscape”, Lois is traumatized by Lucy’s disappearance and by being condemned wrongly for causing her death. Enveloped by her trauma, she lives her life in emotional detachment from her husband and children. She can hardly remember getting married or nursing her boys (35). Wilderness provokes her trauma, and she avoids it. She does not expose her predicament to people in her social circle, and they think she purchases her pictures for investment purposes. Similarly to Lois, Suzan’s isolation is...
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...fear on change and how overwhelmed he is of complexity. Holden wants everything to be easy to understand and a fixed, An example of this is the statues of Eskimos and Native Americans in the museum. Holden doesn't really understand whats going on around him. He acknowledges this fear with his confusion on sex, “sex is something I just don't understand. I swear to God I don't”. Holden invents a fantasy that being an adult is a world of superficiality and phoniness. Holden also feels that childhood is a world of innocence, curiosity, and honesty. In my opinion, Holden's view on childhood and adulthood are immature and foolish. Holden conceptions are very shallow and are proven shallow by his former teacher Mr. Andolini and his little sister Phoebe. Holden has a dream about being a catcher in the rye. He envisions childhood as a peaceful field of rye in which children play and rum. Adulthood, in Holden's fantasy, is equivalent to death, or a fatal fall or the edge. Holden's beliefs on childhood allow Holden to alienate himself from the real world,...
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...Heart of Cold: Siss’ Escape from Childhood The Ice Palace by Tarjei Vesaas takes place in a rural Norwegian village and tells the story of Siss and her short but powerful friendship with Unn. The narrative gives perspective into the events of Siss’ world as she struggles to come to terms with Unn’s death. At eleven-years-old, Siss is on the borderline of adolescence. Despit this, her environment and experiences are forcing her into adulthood too quickly for her. Throughout the novel, Siss tries to resist confronting Unn’s death as she desperately tries to cling to her youthful innocence. In the end, Siss’ inner turmoil finally melts when she goes back to the Ice Palace to confront her inevitable dive into adulthood; the excursion to the Palace marks Siss’ acceptance of growing up and the Palace melting signifies the end of Siss’ search for Unn and the burden of the unknown secret. Siss realizes the expedition to the Ice Palace is more than just a chance to reunite with her school friends: it is the beginning of her acceptance of her aging process. Death has previously been presented as a topic too sophisticated for Siss, causing her to retreat from the her friends that were able to accept the death more easily. Siss was isolated from physically as well as emotionally. This separation paused her emotional growth and led to her desperate attachment to staying a child. As the group of children embark on their journey to the Ice palace, they first must go through a series of valleys...
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... Date: February 16, 2015 ALAGWA Summary: An impoverished single parent, Robert Lim (Jericho Rosales) spends his free time with his young son Brian (Bugoy Cariño), whom he was mad for being responsible of the death of his wife during childbirth. One day Robert went to a mall with Brian for some father and son bonding time, Brian goes to the bathroom then mysteriously disappears. Robert, worried about his son’s disappearance, informs the police chief (Leo Martinez) that his son was abducted. Using evidence shown on camera disc recorded under surveillance, it shows a teenage kid talking to his son Brian. Enraged by this, Robert goes to a park in Quezon Avenue in search of the suspect and later witnesses him getting off a taxi. Robert enrages at the boy but he escapes. The next day, police recover a dead boy’s body with Robert thinking it was his son, but this turns out to be his son’s kidnapper’s body. Robert, becoming more furious, attempts to hunt down the man down responsible for his son’s disappearance. He then encounters a vigilante, and with his knowledge about the suspects of Brian’s kidnapping, pretends to help him by telling him that his son is now being transported to Hong-Kong. Robert soon discovers that Brian’s kidnapping is the result of human-trafficking. That night, Robert receives a call from the vigilante again telling him that he should meet him under an overpass, but soon gets ambushed by police with the vigilante dying on the...
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...comparing the degeneration of the house to the degeneration of one of the main characters, Roderick Usher. At first I will sum up how the mansion and Roderick Usher are characterized, thereupon I will analyze how you can regain the description of the mansion in the description of Roderick Usher and why they have to collapse together in the end and explain it amongst others with the help of Poe's 'theory of totality' and symbolism. The Outside: Description of the House of Usher The description of the House of Usher can be divided into two parts. In the first one it is said that the mansion in which Roderick Usher is living together with his sister Lady Madeline lays in a grim and plain neighborhood. The narrator, who is an old childhood friend of Roderick Usher and sees and describes the scenery, tells the reader of a strong dark feeling which overcomes him, when he sees the House of Usher for the first time after a long ride during a dark autumn day. The mansion has dreary walls, vacant eye-like windows, only a few withered plants around it and a dark tarn in front of it, in which the narrator can see the mirror image of the mansion. This second look causes a stronger shudder to the narrator than the first did. The whole place is surrounded with...
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...move forward. In the short story ‘’…Divorced, Beheaded, Survived’’ by Robin Black, the protagonist Sarah is trapped after the terrible loss of her brother Terry. We are witnessing her struggle between the acceptance of life and death, and how she throughout the story comprehends life and death. The story takes place in two locations Manhattan and Massachusetts. Both of them are only described with few words. In Massachusetts Sara’s house and especially backyard is central for the story, the garden brings back many memories from her childhood. Sara is strongly connected to the garden and she feels sorry for her own kids, that they do not have the same childhood-home as she had. Instead of focusing on the setting, the story tells Sara’s ups and downs, during both present and past time. The structure in the story supports the emotional aspects in Sara life. The story is chronologically told, but uses flashbacks to tell about the protagonists’ childhood. These flashbacks reveal how much influence her past has on her present life, and that she is having a hard time letting the memory of her living brother go. The flashbacks indicate how much she really misses her brother, and that it still plays a huge role in her life even 30 years after he died. An example of how she lets...
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...years. He was one of the world’s leading experts on anti-democratic, right-wing extremist and Nazi organizations, and was often consulted on that account. He died suddenly and unexpectedly in November 2004, soon after delivering the manuscripts for three crime novels to his Swedish publisher. These novels make up the Millennium Trilogy, which has gone on to sell more than three million copies in Sweden alone. Tragically, Larsson did not live to see the worldwide phenomenon his work has become. CHARACTERS Mikael Blomkvist - A journalist, publisher of the political magazine Millennium, and the protagonist of the novel. Ethical, earnest, and a little naïve, Blomkvist accepts a freelance job to solve the mystery of Harriet Vanger’s disappearance in order to restore his good name after a libel conviction threatens his journalistic career and the future of his magazine. Lisbeth Salander - The secondary protagonist of the novel and the titular girl with the dragon tattoo. Though iconoclastic and emotionally withdrawn, Salander is also fearless and a prodigiously skilled hacker, making her an ideal partner for...
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...all people are equally in danger of domestic abuse Yearnshire - A woman suffers around 35 assaults before reporting it Mirlees-Black - 6.6 million assaults each year, half involving physical injury - 99% are committed by men against women - ¼ women suffer domestic abuse at least once in their life, 1/8 repeatedly so. David Cheal - State agencies don’t want to become involved in the family because they believe the family is a good thing (ignores ‘dark side’), women are free to leave and the family is a private sphere. - While many welcome the opportunity to have their same-sex partnerships legally recognised, others fear that it may limit the flexibility of their relationship. Aries - Elements of the modern notion of childhood...
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...Evaluate the view that contemporary families have become more child centred Firstly , child centred society is where children have become more valued and therefore focused on and protected. In this essay I will be evaluating the view that modern families have become more child centred. I will do this by including childhood in the past compared to childhood now , and how childhood has improved through rights and economic improvements and so on. Firstly , childhood is a phase of life between infancy and adulthood and can be said as a modern development as it didn’t develop in western society until the 16th and 17th centuries. For example , a historian Phillip Aries explained that in medieval times childhood did not exist as a separate status. That they were seen as “Little adults” even though they required constant care they were expected to take on adult roles and responsibilities as soon as they were physically able to do so. Such as child labour. It wasn’t until the nineteenth century until that there were restrictions (laws) made to protect children from exploitation and hardship. Which therefore greatly separated children from the adult work life and responsibilities. Children began to be seen as innocent and needed to be protected , as they are also vulnerable. This emphasizes that as attitudes changed towards children there was a social change over time , which has led to child centeredness today. Secondly , strong discipline was used to teach children appropriate behaviour...
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...John Green is an outstanding award winning novelist whose books have been read by many if not all teenagers. In his book Paper Towns, he writes about the numerous adventures and discoveries of Quentin Jacobsen, a rule abiding senior from Orlando, Florida. From the night that Margo Roth Spiegelman, an old childhood friend and Quentin’s neighbor, comes through Quentin’s window and asks for his help to solving the case of Margo’s predicted disappearance Quentin will be in for major changes in his life. Throughout the novel, Quentin unfolds his determined yet cautious actions when dealing with Margo; he plays a role in being a criminal partner and becomes a hound for clues from Margo; and he recognizes his disregard of who people are instead of...
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